I've noticed some interesting behavior with the seekbar in several files I've created. When a user clicks the seekbar, the slide timeline jumps to the correct time but the audio continues playing as if nothing happened. I've narrowed the behavior down to the fact that my audio files are all triggered to play at the beginning of the slide timeline. This is because it needs to play in HTML5 on the iPad.
Is there any way around removing one feature or the other? (I don't actually need the seekbar, just the pause/play button)
Just a quick suggestion here: how about creating custom play and pause buttons for the audio?
You won't be able to disable the seekbar and keep the play and pause buttons, so this may be a good option for you.
Also, you mentioned that the audio is triggered to start at the beginning of the timeline. Have you tried removing that trigger? If you simply insert the audio, without adding a trigger, it should play automatically with the slide. However, if you add a trigger to it, it will "separate" the audio file from the actual timeline.
My understanding was that audio had to be triggered in order to "autoplay" on a slide in HTML5. Has that changed?
Also, I haven't created custom pause and play buttons for the audio because the audio is timed to elements on the slide that appear and disappear. I need the entire timeline to be paused, not just the audio. I don't think there's a "Pause Timeline" trigger created yet, but I believe I read that someone had created a request for that feature.
I think that may be the case for some HTML5 courses, usually those set to automatically advance, but I have seen it occur in others.
You can actually pause the timeline by opening a layer. Nothing really has to show up on the layer, just have it pause the timeline when it's open. You can have the layer close, if the user presses the "Play" button.
So, if you align the audio to the elements on the slide, you could still incorporate the custom buttons and have it paused by opening new layer that pauses that entire timeline. You could also include another trigger, if this doesn't work to pause the media when that layer's timeline starts.
If you would like to share a slide with this content in a .STORY file, I'd be happy to see if I can show you a quick example.
OK, I see what you're saying. And yes, that would absolutely work on slides where the only layer I'm using is the base layer. Would it work on slides where I'm using 20 slide layers? I'm thinking it probably won't do it the way we'd ideally have it.
Slides like that (base layer + 20 slide layers) are a large photo of a piece of machinery. There are 20ish hotspots on the screen that the user clicks to bring up a short description of what each piece of machinery does. Each of those layers has hotspots to the other layers on them, and if they leave the active layer, the audio should restart when returning. I'm afraid I can't have it restart when returning if I'm going to use a layer as my pausing mechanism.
I should have mentioned in my original question that I have a ton of workarounds built into the modules because of various needs. I'm guessing that any tweak to accommodate this will then need to be accompanied by a tweak to one or many of those workarounds.
I can't post my story file publicly - do you have the link where I can upload for you to take a look?
Ahhh, I see. I didn't realize you were working with so many layers. You sound a lot like me, I love adding multiple layers to my slides :)
In theory, you probably could still do this - but it would take a bit of work on all those layers and I couldn't see myself doing that, either.
Certainly! You're more than welcome to share the file with us privately. You'll be able to attach the .STORY file on the second page of the following form:
Please be sure to include a description of your issue. Please also include the URL for this thread in the form. Also, please share the case number with me. You're welcome to do so here, or in a private message. This way I can check out the file and see if our support team is able to provide any additional suggestions.
I just tried making a change, and it appears that there may no longer be a limitation about needing to trigger audio at the start of a slide. I removed the triggers and now the audio still plays just fine...which means I can use the seekbar as intended. Whew - what a relief!
8 Replies
Hi Nick,
Just a quick suggestion here: how about creating custom play and pause buttons for the audio?
You won't be able to disable the seekbar and keep the play and pause buttons, so this may be a good option for you.
Also, you mentioned that the audio is triggered to start at the beginning of the timeline. Have you tried removing that trigger? If you simply insert the audio, without adding a trigger, it should play automatically with the slide. However, if you add a trigger to it, it will "separate" the audio file from the actual timeline.
I hope this helps!
Christine
Thanks, Christine,
My understanding was that audio had to be triggered in order to "autoplay" on a slide in HTML5. Has that changed?
Also, I haven't created custom pause and play buttons for the audio because the audio is timed to elements on the slide that appear and disappear. I need the entire timeline to be paused, not just the audio. I don't think there's a "Pause Timeline" trigger created yet, but I believe I read that someone had created a request for that feature.
Does that make sense?
Hi Nick,
I think that may be the case for some HTML5 courses, usually those set to automatically advance, but I have seen it occur in others.
You can actually pause the timeline by opening a layer. Nothing really has to show up on the layer, just have it pause the timeline when it's open. You can have the layer close, if the user presses the "Play" button.
So, if you align the audio to the elements on the slide, you could still incorporate the custom buttons and have it paused by opening new layer that pauses that entire timeline. You could also include another trigger, if this doesn't work to pause the media when that layer's timeline starts.
If you would like to share a slide with this content in a .STORY file, I'd be happy to see if I can show you a quick example.
Thanks!
OK, I see what you're saying. And yes, that would absolutely work on slides where the only layer I'm using is the base layer. Would it work on slides where I'm using 20 slide layers? I'm thinking it probably won't do it the way we'd ideally have it.
Slides like that (base layer + 20 slide layers) are a large photo of a piece of machinery. There are 20ish hotspots on the screen that the user clicks to bring up a short description of what each piece of machinery does. Each of those layers has hotspots to the other layers on them, and if they leave the active layer, the audio should restart when returning. I'm afraid I can't have it restart when returning if I'm going to use a layer as my pausing mechanism.
I should have mentioned in my original question that I have a ton of workarounds built into the modules because of various needs. I'm guessing that any tweak to accommodate this will then need to be accompanied by a tweak to one or many of those workarounds.
I can't post my story file publicly - do you have the link where I can upload for you to take a look?
Thanks for your help!
Nick
Hi Nick!
Ahhh, I see. I didn't realize you were working with so many layers. You sound a lot like me, I love adding multiple layers to my slides :)
In theory, you probably could still do this - but it would take a bit of work on all those layers and I couldn't see myself doing that, either.
Certainly! You're more than welcome to share the file with us privately. You'll be able to attach the .STORY file on the second page of the following form:
Articulate Support - Submit a Support Case
Please be sure to include a description of your issue. Please also include the URL for this thread in the form. Also, please share the case number with me. You're welcome to do so here, or in a private message. This way I can check out the file and see if our support team is able to provide any additional suggestions.
Thanks again, Nick!
Christine
Thank you very much!
The case number is 331526.
Let me know what you think - I have a dozen or so modules I'll need to apply this to, and an additional dozen to be completed by end of Q3 this year.
Thanks so much for your help and quick response!
Nick
Hi Christine,
I just tried making a change, and it appears that there may no longer be a limitation about needing to trigger audio at the start of a slide. I removed the triggers and now the audio still plays just fine...which means I can use the seekbar as intended. Whew - what a relief!
Thanks again for all your help!
Nick
Hi Nick,
Sorry for the delay!
That's great news! I'm very happy to hear you were able to get it working without the triggers.
Thanks so much for keeping me updated. I also saw your private message and I'll be responding to that in a moment :)
Have a great day, Nick!
Christine
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